Expanded metal lath cutting machine



l Dec.`3,'1940. w. J. PURsER ETAL 2,223,497

EXPANDED METAL LATH CUTTING MACHINE W. C: Cayelj,

Dec. 3, 1940. w. J. PuRsx-:R r-:TAL y 2,223,497

EXPANDED METAL LATH CUTTING MACHINE Filed March l', 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 3, 1940 y UNITED STATES EXPANDED METAL LATH UUTTING MACHINE William J. Purser, Niles, and William C. C'oryell, Youngstown, Ohio, assignors to The Bostwick Steel Lath Company, tion of Ohio Niles, Ohio, a, corpora- Appncation March 1, 1940, serial No. 321,756

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for slitting expanded'rnetal lath or fabric, such as commonly is used as a base or supporting means for plaster, stucco and the like in building 5 constructions.

Expanded metal lathor fabric of the character with which the present invention is concerned is formed by first providing parallel rows of slits in a flat sheet of metal with the slits in each row spaced apart at their ends and with the spaces between the ends of the slits of each row alined, transversely of the sheet, with the medial portions of the 'slits of adjacent rows, and by then expanding the sheet transversely. Slitting of a sheet in the manner stated divides the sheet into strands, while transverse expansion of the sheet results in said strands being drawn apart and forming diamond-shaped openings in the sheet. 'Ihese diamond-shaped openings are, of course, defined by the strands and due to the manner of slitting the-sheet, bonds are provided uniting the strands at the corners of the diamondshaped openings therein. Moreover, when the sheet is expanded the strands and the bonds do not remain in the plane of the sheet, but are caused to twist and assume, in cross section, -diagonal relationship to the plane of the sheet. 'Ihe bonds are, of course, twice as Wide as the strands, assuming that the strands arev equal in width to each other, as usually is the case, and said bonds are, 0f course, disposed in rows longitudinally of the sheet.

It is usual to form metal lath of the character stated into sheets of standard lengths and widths and thereafter to cut said sheets into elongated strips of narrow width for special uses.

One common method of cutting sheets of the character stated into narrow strips is to sever the strands of the sheets. This, however, re- 40 sults in the strips having ragged, sharp, barbed edges which cut and tear the hands of workmen handling the strips. Therefore, this manner of cutting the sheets into strips is quite objectionable.

Attempts have been made to provide machines for cutting sheets of the character stated into strips by longitudinally severing the bonds of the sheets midway between their side edges, thereby to avoid ragged, barbed side edges along the strips, but for one reason or another machines heretofore designed for this purpose have not proved entirely successful, one principal reason being that said prior machines have not been constructed to insure positive holding of the sheets in proper relationship to the cutters.

Accordingly, the' general object of the present invention is to' provide a machine to cut sheets of the character stated into strips by longitudinally severing the bonds of the sheets midway between theirside'edges, whereby the side edges 5 of the strips will be substantially smooth and devoid of sharp projections, and to so construct a machine for this purpose as to Ainsure that the sheets will Ibe positively held in proper relationship to the cutters to insure cutting of the bonds l10 in the manner stated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple machine embodying simple, eflicient holding means for the purpose stated and which may be operated at high speed for rapidly cut- 15 ting sheets into strips without danger of' the sheets being cut otherwise than cleanly along `lines midway between the side edges of the bonds of the sheets, as is desired.

With the foregoing and other objects in view 20 Awhich will become more fully apparent as the nature of theY invention is better understood, the sameconsists in a machine for the purpose stated i embodying the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims. I

In the Yaccompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference `denote corresponding 30 parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is an end view, partly in section, of a machine constructed in accordance with one ypractical embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view of one pair A35 of the cutters and sheet holding means of the machine. v

Figure 3 is a detail, longitudinal section through a portion of the machine shown in Fig.

1,' and Figure 4 is a plan View of a section of metal llathl of the type which the present machine is designed to cut.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be observed'v that a sheet A of metal lath of the 45 character with which the present invention is concerned has diamond-shaped openings defined by strands l0 which are united with each other at the corners of the openings by vbonds ll disposed in rows longitudinally of the sheet, and 50 that said strands and bonds extend, cross sectionally with respect to the sheet, in stair-step fashion relative to each other.

In order tov longitudinally cut a sheet of the character stated into narrower sheets or strips 55 ting means comprises a pair of rotatably driven cutting disks which are laterally and longitudinally offset relative to each other and which are disposed in edge to edge or -slightly over-Y lapped, face to face relationship whereby they 'f act as shears, while the sheet holding and guiding means comprises one ormore guide disks, formed either integrally with or in Aeffect carried by each cutting disk for cooperation with the bonds and the strands of the sheet to either side of the row of bonds to be cut tin-'positively insure proper presentation of each bond to be eutstov the cutting disks. y Ina machine constructed in accordance with the Ainventioneach pair. of 'cutting disks and cooperating holding disks comprises a cutting and holding unit, and there may be only one or as manyvof. these units as desired to cut a sheet into vany desired number of strips of any desired widths. v v I The drawings illustrate by way of example a machine embodying the features of the invention as comprising a frame composed of spaced apart side elements I2, I2 connected together by upper and lowervcrosslmembers I3 and I4, respectively, and further illustrate by way of example two cutting and holding units mounted 'upon `said frame in laterally spaced apart relationship; to simultaneously cut two rows of bonds II of a sheet A supported upon a suitable frame-carried table I5 disposed horizontally between the cross members I3 and I4.

4Each cutting Vand holding unit comprises an upper head and a lower head and each vhead comprisesa suitable bracket I6 having suitably y journaled therein a shaft I1 .which may be ro- I'I of said upper heads and the cutting and holding disks of the lower heads are carried by the upper ends of A,the shafts II of the latter heads. Moreover, the upper and lower shafts II, I'I of each unit are disposed in parallel, laterally offset relationship to each other to dispose the cutting disks I8, I8 carried thereby in shear-like relationship to each other, either in edge to edge relationshipl or in slightly overlapped, face to face relationship as shown. In addition, said shafts I'I, I'I are disposed at inclinations .to the table I5 corresponding to the inclinations of the strands I and the bonds I I ofthe sheet A to the plane of said sheet todispose the cutting disks I8, I8 in planes at right angles to the bonds II of a sheet A supported upon the table I and to insure proper holding engagement of the guide disks I9 with the strands and bonds of the sheet A to either side of the row of bonds II to` be cut. In otherV words, there may be one or more sheet holding and guiding disks I9 either above or below, o'r. both above and below, each cutting kdisk I8, but preferably there are two or more of the disks I9 both above and below each cutting disk. In any event, the cutting disks and the l holding and guiding disks are axially alined with each other and are of equal thickness and also are equal in thickness to the width of the strands ID. Moreover, the holding and guiding disks I9 are of different ldiameters such that their marginal portions are disposed in stepped relationship to each other corresponding to the stepped relationship of the strands I0 yof the sheet A to each other. The marginal portions of said holding` and guiding disks also have substantially this same stepped relationship to the marginal portionswofthe cutting disks I8. Furthermore,

the cuttin'gdisks Vof each pair are disposed at an elevation such that the' points of intersection of their cutting edges or, in other words, their cut- 2 ting.points,`are'disposed in the median plane of a sheet A supported uponthe table I5. In short, each pair 'of cutting disks I8, I8 are disposed so that lwhen a sheet Ais supported flatly upon the table .I 5 with alrow ofA the bonds I I alined with the' between theirlside edges, Ywhile the holding andv guiding disks I9 are disposed to fit into theY steplike formations defined by the strands I0 and the bonds II at bothfthe top and the bottom ofthe sheet and to eithersideyofA the row of bonds. II

to be cut, thereby positively to hold the sheet in proper relationship tothe cutting disksv to'in.-

surel that the bonds will be cut midway between their side edges.y v v Any given cutting disk I8 and its related sheetholding vand guidingy disks maybe formed as a Aone-piece, stepped` element. .Y Preferably, however, the disks I8 iand I9 of'each head are separate end distinct' from one'anotherxand are supported inxsuperimposed relationship upon a base disk 20 carried by the rrelated shaft I'I,-be ingclamped against said-base disk and against one vanother -by means Vof a suitable nut 2I threaded upon the end of the'shaft I1.

The upper and lower heads are,::of course, disposed above and' below a sheetA supported upon the Ytable I5, which, of course, necessitatesthe provision of av suitable openingl 22 in` saiditable I5 through whichythe operative portions of the i cutting and holding disksofthe lower heads may extend into operative engagementwith the Ysheet Any suitable meansrnayLbe provided to insure proper vpresentation of the forward end.- of a sheet A to .be cut to the cutting and holding units and to thereafter assist in guiding the sheet as it is advanced manually or `otherwise Vthrough the machine. For example, `there may lbeasuitable guide element 23Y carried by th'e'table.` I5 against which `one side edge: 1 of Ythe' she'etA may be disposed to insure `alinement of any 'given `row of the bonds I'I with the cutting points of any given pair of the cn-ttir'igv disks I8, |85 i f Also, anysuitable means may be provided for rotatably driving the'shafts ILand the cutting and holding disks carried' thereby. In-this'connection andas' illustrated `by way ofV example in the present instance, the upper fand lower shafts I1 `may rbe 'provided at their Yupper and lower ends,` respectively, With-bevel gears lMr'neshing with' companion bevelv gears'Z 'on upper `and lower suitably driven shafts 26 and 21 journaled in suitable bearings carriedv by the frame" side which a sprocket chain is trained'todrive a sprocket on Va stud shaft upon whichis also a gear in mesh with a gear on shaft 26 as shown attheleftofFigl. H

The cutting heads of each unit may, of course, be adjustable along the cross members l3and I4 transversely of the machine to enable' any given sheet A to be cut into strips of any desired widths.

In the operation of the' machine a sheet A to be cut is placed iiatly upon the Vtable.`l5 with the rows. of bonds Il `to becut alined'with.l the effective cutting portions of the cutting disks I8, the guide element 23 serving in this connection to facilitate a proper initial presentation of the for'- ward edge of the sheet to the cutting and holding units. The sheet then is advanced manually, or otherwise, over the table l5 toward the cutting and holding units, and as the successive bonds of a row are presented to the cutting disks the bonds and strands to either side of said row are engaged above and below by the holding and guiding disks I9 whereby the sheet is held positively in position to insure that the bonds will be cut midway between their side edges so that ragged or barbed edges at the sides of the strips cut from the sheet will be avoided.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without .departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

We claim: v

1. A machine for cutting expanded metal lath of the type having diamond-shaped openings defined by diagonal strands united with each other at the corners of the openings by bonds and wherein the strands and bonds are cross-sectionally inclined to the plane of the sheet and are disposed in stair-step relationship to each other, said machine having a support for a sheet of the lath to be cut, rotary shears comprising cooperating bond cutting disks disposed in planes at substantially right angles to the planes of the bonds of a sheet of lath disposed upon said support, said cutting disks being disposed at elevations to cut a row of bonds of the sheet midway between the side edges of the bonds when the sheet is advanced over said support toward said cutting disks, and in combination therewith the improvement which consists of sheet holding disks axially alined with said cutting disks and rotatable therewith and cooperating with each other to provide stepped marginal portions conforming to and fitting into the step-like spaces defined yby the strands and bonds to either side of the row of bonds being cut, whereby the sheet is held in proper relationship to the cutting disks to insure cutting of the bonds midway between their side edges by said cutting disks.

2. A machine for cutting expanded metal lath of the type having diamond-shaped openings defined by diagonal strands united with each other at the corners of the openings by bonds and wherein the strands and bonds are cross-sectionally inclined to the plane of the sheet and are disposed in stair-step relationship to each other, said machine having a support for a sheet of the lath to be cut, rotary shears comprising cooperating bond cutting disks disposed in planes at substantially right angles to the planes oi the bonds of a sheet of lath disposed upon said support, said cutting disks 'being' disposed at elevations to cut a row of bonds of the sheet midway between the lside edges of the` bonds when the sheet is advanced over said support toward said cutting disks, and in combination therewith the improvement whichv consists ofv stepped means rotatable v' with said cutting disks for cooperation with the step-like formations of the sheet to either side of the row of bonds Ato be cut to hold the sheet in a relationship to said cutting disks to insure cutting of the bonds midway between their side edges by said cutting disks. f v

. 3. Amachine for cutting expanded metal lath of the'type having diamond-shaped openings defined by diagonal strands united with keach other at the corners of the openings by bonds and wherein the strands and bonds are cross-sectionally inclined to the plane of the sheet and are disposed in stair-step relationship to each other, said machine having a support for a sheet of the lath to be cut, rotary shears comprising cooperating bond cutting disks disposed in planes at substantially right angles to the planes of the bonds of a sheet of lath disposed upon said support, said cutting disks being disposed at elevations such that one is disposed above and the other below a sheet resting upon said support, said cutting disks further being disposed at elevations to cut a row of bonds of the sheet midway between the side edges of the bonds when the sheet is advanced over said support toward said cutting disks, and in combination therewith the improvement which consists of sheet holding disks above and below each cutting disk rotatable therewith and having their marginal portions disposed in stepped relationship to each other for cooperation with the step-like formations of the sheet to either side of the row of bonds to be cut to hold the sheet in a relationship to said cutting disks to insure cutting of the bonds midway between their side edges by said cutting disks.

4. A machine for cutting expanded metal lath of the type having diamond-shaped openings dened by diagonal strands united with each other at the corners of the openings by bonds and wherein the strands and bonds are cross-sectionally inclined to the plane of the sheet and are disposed in stair-step relationship to each other, said machine having a support for a sheet of the lath to be cut, rotary shears comprising cooperating bond cutting disks disposed in planes at substantially right angles to the planes of the bonds of a sheet of lath disposed upon said support, said cutting disks being disposed at elevations such that one is disposed above and the other below a sheet resting upon said support, said cutting disks further being disposed at elevations to cut a row of bonds of the sheet midway between the side edges of the bonds when the sheet is advanced over said support toward said cutting disks, and in combination therewith the improvement which consists of a plurality of sheet holding disks at least at one side of each cutting disk having their marginal portions disposed in stepped relationship corresponding to the stepped relationship of the strands and bonds of the sheet to either side of the row of bonds to be cut for cooperation with the said stepped strands and bonds of the sheet to either side of the row of bonds to be cut to hold the sheet in a relationship to said cutting disks to insure cutting of the bonds midway between'their side edges by said cutting disks.

5. A machine for cutting expanded metal lath of the type having diamond-shaped openings defined by diagonal strands united with each other at the corners of the openings by bonds and wherein the strands and bonds are cross-sectionally inclined to the plane of the sheet and are disposed in stair-step relationship to each other, .said machine having a support for a sheet of the lath to be cut, rotary shears comprising cooperating bond cutting disks disposed in planes at substantially right angles to the planes of the blonds of a sheet of lath disposed upon said support, said cutting disks being disposed at elevations such that one is disposed above and the other below a sheet resting upon said support, said cutting disks further being disposed at elevations to cut a row of bonds of the vsheet midway between the side edges of the bonds When'the sheet is 'advanced'over'said support toward said cutting disks, and in combination therewith the improvement Which consists of at least one sheet holding disk at one side of each cutting disk rotatable with its related cutting disk, each holding disk having its marginal portion disposed to t a stepped strand and bond formation of the sheet to a side of the row of bonds to be cut .to hold the sheet in a relationship to said cutting disks to insure cutting of the 10 bonds midway between :their side edges by said cutting disks.

` WILLIAM J. PURSER.

WILLIAM C. CORYELL. 

